“Haah.”

Ciela let out a deep sigh once again. The sharp, unyielding aura she had exuded earlier had softened significantly. It was at that moment, as two pairs of eyes stared at her, completely clueless about her sudden change in demeanor, that she spoke.

“Seeing you cling to me like this… it’s starting to weaken my resolve.”

“Nyaa?”

“R-really?”

The contrast was striking: Turtlik beamed with delight, clenching both fists in excitement, while Titi’s expression was one of utter confusion, as if to say, What is she talking about?

“To be honest, I already felt a bit sorry for you, Young Master Turtlik. That’s why you’ve been on my mind.”

“It’s one thing for me to be on your mind, but what do you mean you feel sorry for me?”

Ciela gently brushed her hand against her cheek, tilting her head slightly to one side. After a brief pause, she let out a soft sigh and murmured, almost as if talking to herself.

“On top of everything, you’ve already been half-disowned by your father, Count Turtlik, because of your reckless behavior—your penchant for drinking and gambling, to be specific.”

“How… how does the young lady know about that…?”

Young Master Turtlik’s face turned ghostly pale. This was a closely guarded secret within his family. The count had gone to great lengths to keep the rumors from spreading through social circles, hoping his son would eventually mend his ways. While it was nearly impossible to keep such matters entirely hidden, it was unfathomable for Ciela, the sheltered daughter of a marquis with no involvement in social events, to be aware of it.

“If the young master’s affair with his fiancée’s younger sister were to come to light, you might truly be erased from the family records.”

Ciela continued, brushing her hand lightly over her eyes, her tone filled with a blend of pity and exasperation.

“And then there’s the gambling debt. I heard you borrowed money from my father to cover it. Honestly, I can’t even begin to imagine how you plan to repay it if our engagement were to be annulled. Considering gambling is the only thing you’re skilled at, how do you plan to handle this?”

Ciela said with a dramatic sigh, once again dabbing at her eyes as if overcome by pity.

‘Truthfully, it’s all his own fault, so there’s nothing to feel sorry about,‘ she thought, recalling the details Uncle Ken had shared with her.

‘The sheer nerve of carrying on an affair with Lilia while hiding such secrets… It’s utterly ridiculous.’

She couldn’t help but wonder where he found the confidence to believe he wouldn’t get caught.

“Since you said you pity me, could you let the talk of breaking off the engagement go, just this once? Think of it as doing a good deed and saving a life.”

The gravity of the situation seemed to have finally dawned on him, and his voice was now measured, almost pleading. However, Ciela remained unyielding, drawing a firm line.

“You had an affair with my sister, no less. How could I possibly overlook that?”

“I’ve already told you! What I said to Lilia was only that I thought she was a decent person!”

“Hmm. Then prove it.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

He asked, clutching the hem of her skirt as if it were his last hope. His voice brimmed with desperation, as though he was ready to do anything she asked. The way he stared at her, wide-eyed and expectant, made him look like a puppy eager to please.

“Would you be willing to stand up in front of everyone and say that Lilia misunderstood your words, twisted them and caused this engagement to fall apart?”

“….”

Young Master Turtlik, who had seemed ready to move mountains just moments before, suddenly froze, unable to utter a single word. Ciela stifled the urge to smirk, instead giving him a look of pity.

“This is exactly why I said I feel sorry for you.”

“….”

“Even now, standing on the brink of disaster, you’re still thinking about Lilia. Meanwhile, my sister has already moved on. In fact, she’s doing quite well with the Duke of Icarus.”

“…What?”

He stared up at her, stunned, his face momentarily frozen in disbelief. Then, as if shaking off the shock, he abruptly stood, his face flushing a fiery red, as though he had been dealt a severe blow to his pride.

“Don’t disgracefully drag Lilia into this mess between us.”

“I’m not sure who’s being more disgraceful here.”

Defending the person he had an affair with, and in front of his fiancée no less? That was certainly far more disgraceful. She let out a mocking scoff.

“Hah, now that I think about it, I should never have wasted my time listening to you in the first place.”

He said bitterly, spinning on his heel. Without another glance, he started striding purposefully toward the door. Watching his retreating figure, Ciela’s voice softened as she spoke.

“But surely, no one knows better than you that what I said today is the truth, don’t they?”

At her words, his shoulders twitched, trembling slightly. Ciela’s expression softened further, her lashes lowering as she added in a gentle yet pointed tone.

“If you still doubt me, why not go to Hanta Park next week and see for yourself?”

Freeze.

“You’ll be able to see Lilia spending quality time with His Grace, the Duke of Icarus.”

At her words, he paused for a moment, as if to consider them. But almost immediately, a look of displeasure crossed his face, as if he was angry with himself for giving her words any thought. He flung the door open roughly and stormed out.

‘Lilia would never do that.’

Crazy woman. How dare she cast doubt on someone as angelic as Lilia? He couldn’t forgive himself for even entertaining the possibility. Seething, he hurried down the stairs with a nervous, irritable gait.

“Young Master Turtlik. The young lady has requested your presence.”

Standing at the staircase, Lilia’s personal maid relayed her message to him.

“….”

He hesitated, unable to respond right away. Ciela’s words had left him unsettled, and the thought of seeing Lilia filled him with an inexplicable sense of guilt. Still, she was the only one who could ease this heavy, suffocating feeling. After much deliberation, he finally made up his mind.

“Where should I go?”

“I’ll take you to where the young lady is.”

Following the maid, he made his way toward the guest rooms. The hallway, designated for entertaining guests, was quiet and sparsely populated. At the third door from the end of the corridor, the maid knocked lightly and called out in a practiced tone.

“I’ve brought him, my lady.”

From inside, the sound of footsteps approaching the door could be heard. The doorknob turned, and the door opened.

“Welcome!”

With a bright smile, Lilia greeted him and placed her hand lightly on his arm. The warmth of her touch sent a jolt through him, making his shoulders tense instinctively.

“Hehe, I was just thinking about how much I wanted to see you, and now here you are! It makes me so happy.”

Lilia lightly scratched her flushed cheek, her embarrassment evident as her cheeks bloomed like petals. Watching her, his heart softened, filling with a warm, tender feeling. He couldn’t believe he had let Ciela’s words get to him.

‘Coming to see Lilia was the best choice.”

Turtlik felt certain that any lingering doubts would soon vanish entirely. But then—

“Did you and my sister resolve things?”

“Huh…?”

“Or did it not go well?”

Her clear, lake-like eyes gazed up at him with an endearing sweetness. Normally, such a look from Lilia would have sent his heart soaring, but today it only unsettled him. The subtle discomfort gnawed at him until he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Do you really want me to marry her?”

“Didn’t we already settle that earlier?”

Lilia replied with a soft smile.

“But…”

Lilia, who had been gazing up at him, lowered her head with a soft sigh. When she looked up again, a faint, bittersweet smile rested on her lips.

“If you want to reconcile with Count Turtlik, you’ll need my father’s help.”

The count, enraged by his son’s years of reckless behavior, had severed all financial support but offered him one final chance: if he could repay his debts independently, the count would guarantee his future security. Desperate to repay the debt, Turtlik returned to gambling, only to lose more and see his debts grow. At his lowest point, Marquis Arcel appeared with a proposal.

“And above all, I don’t want my sister, who’s facing her final days due to illness, to feel lonely.”

“What about us?”

Lilia’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears, and her lips quivered as though she were holding back sobs.

“I’ll wait for you.”

“But we don’t even know how long Ciela has left.”

“I’ll keep waiting, but if you can’t bear it, it’s okay to end things between us along the way. And if you choose to continue, I’ll accept that too.”

The words he had just heard from Lilia were exactly the same as those he’d heard before going to see Ciela. When Turtlik heard them the first time, it felt as if fate itself were determined to pull him and Lilia apart. He had been both sorrowful and grateful for her willingness to wait for him. But now, hearing the same words again only a few hours later, he couldn’t help but feel as though Lilia had carefully excluded herself from any responsibility for the situation.

‘I must be out of my mind.’

The guilt he felt toward Lilia left him deeply unsettled.

“…I just remembered something urgent. I’ll have to leave now.”

Without even waiting for Lilia’s farewell, he hurried out of the room. Left alone, with the warmth of his hand suddenly gone, Lilia blinked in surprise.

“Is marrying my sister such a terrible idea for him?”

Then again, he had always been overly infatuated with her. Slowly, Lilia wiped the smile off her face and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. She began scrubbing the area where Turtlik had touched her, rubbing it incessantly. Her pale white skin turned red and irritated, but she didn’t stop, as though she still felt unclean.

“Haah. At least this troublesome affair is finally over.”

After a long while, nothing remained in the spot where Lilia had stood except for the discarded handkerchief.

***

Click.

As the sound of heavy, retreating footsteps echoed from beyond the door, Ciela locked it behind her.

‘I should thank Uncle Ken soon for giving me such an interesting piece of information.’

She found it amusing to watch the way her fiancé’s expression shifted every time she brought up something he wanted to keep hidden. She recalled the back of his head as he hurried out of the room in a fluster.

‘No matter how desperately he wants to believe blindly, can he really manage that?’

It was about someone he had feelings for. The more he tried to ignore it, the more it would eat away at him, growing larger like a snowball rolling downhill.

‘And once suspicion takes root, it drives a person to madness.’

In the end, he would inevitably find himself at Hanta Park, just as she had suggested—if only to preserve his sanity.

‘Maybe I should try one of those fairy apples.’

Ciela mused as she turned toward the table where the basket was sitting.

But she stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing at the odd sight before her.

“Titi?”

There was Titi, furiously tearing apart the roses her fiancé had gifted her with his claws. The once-vibrant blooms were being mercilessly destroyed, as though he had stumbled upon a mortal enemy. Already trampled and wilted, the flowers now looked even sadder in their shredded state.

“Titi?”

“Meow?”

At the sound of her voice, Titi looked up at her with wide, guileless eyes, as if completely unaware of his mischief. Ciela sighed, slipping her hands under his little armpits and lifting him into the air.

“Titi.”

“Meow.”

When she called out to him in a scolding tone, Titi turned his head slightly, avoiding her gaze.

“Hey, don’t look away.”

Locking eyes with him, she spoke sternly.

“That’s a no-no.”

“Meow?”

“I’ll buy you some other roses to play with, so leave those alone, okay?”

“Meow!”

Titi nodded enthusiastically. Only then did Ciela drop her stern act, her expression softening into a warm smile.

Purr. As she smiled, Titi’s mood seemed to lift, and he began to purr contentedly. He nuzzled his cheek against her hand with a playful charm, and seeing him like that made Ciela feel happy as well.

“Oh, right.”

Ciela suddenly recalled something that had happened earlier during her outing.

Purr. Titi looked up at her as if to ask what she was thinking, and she spoke to him as she always did.

“Today, I saw a cat that looked just like you.”

Meow.

Abruptly, the purring stopped.

“Titi?”

Titi began squirming in her arms, as if trying to free himself. Then, he leapt onto the table and batted at the basket with his paw, as though asking what it was.

What’s gotten into him?

Ciela found his behavior strangely unnatural and tilted her head in curiosity. Still, she answered him with care.

“Do you remember when you said you’d save me before?”

“Meow!”

“This is the fairy apple you mentioned back then. Thanks to you, I was able to find it.”

Ciela said, giving credit to Titi for helping her acquire the prized apple. If Uncle Ken had heard this, he might have shed a tear, but fortunately—or unfortunately—he wasn’t around.

“Meow!”

As if urging her to try it, Titi used his soft paw to brush aside the cloth covering the basket. Then, he inspected the apples, looking them over carefully before pressing his paw on the prettiest one.

One charming Titi is worth ten ordinary cats.

Ciela smiled in satisfaction and picked up the apple Titi had chosen.

“Thanks. I’ll eat this.”